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Professional refereeing is being introduced in Portugal with a first group of nine FIFA referees: Pedro Proenca (photo), Olegario Benquerenca, Jorge Sousa, Artur Soares, Carlos Xistra, Duarte Gomes, Joao Capela, Hugo Miguel and Marco Ferreira. This new program will start in November 2013, with training sessions to be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, whenever possible, depending on their international match appointments.

"This is a historic day. The introduction of professional referees in Portugal will not eradicate the refereeing errors, but will definitely decrease them", said Melo Pereira, the chairman of the FPF Referees Committee. The referees will be paid 2,500 euro per month in addition to the game fees. The professional model will be adjusted next season, with the number expected to increase to 12/14 referees, with a fixed salary staggered into three groups, more game fees and performance bonus determined by technical criteria. In 2014-2015, the 10 FIFA assistant referees will be added to the list. In 2015-2016, the Portuguese Referees Committee estimates that the number of professionals will increase to 18/20 referees plus 10 assistant referees.

FIFA referee Emir Aleckovic was recently suspended for two years by the Disciplinary Committee of the Bosnian Football Federation and will be removed from the FIFA List. He was found guilty of sending inappropriate text messages to the youth referees that he was mentoring in his home country. In July, Aleckovic was sent home by UEFA from the U-19 Euro 2013 in Lithuania, for "alleged wrongdoings in Bosnia-Herzegovina". Aleckovic, 33, became a FIFA referee in 2010. He was among the six referees selected for the UEFA U-19 Euro tournament, where he was only appointed to one match, France – Georgia.

An intense month in the football calendar has come to an end. The last group qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil have come and gone, and the final berths are about to be claimed via the playoffs. Slowly but surely, the make-up of next year’s tournament is taking shape. Yet this isn’t just an intense time for the teams; the same is true for the officials. Impeccable performances and the fullest concentration are expected of them. Participation at the World Cup is on the line, and that means there’s a lot at stake - a huge amount in fact. So it isn’t just the players and football associations who are feeling the pressure. The world’s top referees are also in the spotlight. My team and I will analyze those games in detail. Part of the prospective team of officials for Brazil is currently in the United Arab Emirates for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, while other referees are officiating at tournaments in the confederations, taking the opportunity to stake their claim for a part in the biggest and most important tournament in the world. The anticipation is building among the referees too.

The plan is for the world’s best to officiate next summer. That’s what we are working towards. In a way, we’re leading “team neutral” to the World Cup. Let’s cast our minds back briefly. In mid-April we organised four-day seminars in each confederation. I led those intensive sessions, which covered various theoretical and practical exercises. We are presently working with three-man teams of officials from over 50 countries, but there is still an opportunity for others to add their name to the list of those who will referee in Brazil. Officials may not have the necessary abilities today, but that may not be the case tomorrow. Right now we are still only at the qualifying stage and we don’t yet know who’ll be in our team for the World Cup! The next thing for us to do is to make sure that the candidates for 2014 make decisions on the pitch based on uniform and consistent criteria. We are working towards achieving uniformity and consistency in our decision-making. These are the vital factors we have to consider. For me, the most important messages we have to get across to the players and the rest of the world are fair play and respect. We are travelling to Brazil, one of the top footballing nations. We need fair play and we need respect. Some situations require a split-second decision, while others arise when the referee doesn’t have a perfect view. So co-operation is extremely important. The players need to realise that football is a game that needs to be enjoyed and not ruined. It’s often very difficult for the referee to make the right decision when the players don’t play fair. One of the most important aspects of a referee’s training is to understand different footballing mentalities. How can referees improve in this area? Through practising their skill relentlessly, just as a player or coach would do. They have to watch and re-watch videos, noting down the differences. They have to “nourish” themselves with football, as it were. We have to understand every zone, whether it be Africa, Asia or Central America. That way our referees won’t be caught out by unexpected situations or reactions. We have to grasp the different football cultures as best we can. We place great importance on the referee being in the best possible position during the game, focusing especially on his movement and where he places himself during a game. A well-positioned referee can, for example, better assess and recognise what’s happening in the penalty area or in peripheral areas of the pitch where it can be difficult to see exactly what’s taking place. Obviously we can’t eradicate every mistake although we can do our utmost to minimise errors. But at the end of the day, we are all human and we will always make mistakes.

United States referee Kari Seitz recently announced her retirement, following a remarkable career that included 14 years at football’s highest levels. The 42-year-old worked matches in four FIFA Women's World Cups (1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011), the inaugural FIFA U-19 Women's World Cup in 2002 and three Olympic Games (Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012).

"I've had opportunities that I never could have imagined as an official starting out at just 14 years of age," said Seitz. "My life experiences as a referee have shaped me into the person I am today, from supporting youth matches, officiating amateur, professional matches in MLS, WUSA, WPS and recently NWSL. At the world stage with five World Cups and three Olympic games and countless other world class experiences, I can step aside with a tremendous sense of pride from helping advance the game in the United States.” Her farewell match took place on October 20, when she refereed the friendly international between the U.S. and Australia, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. "Kari has played a key role in the growth of women's soccer in the United States over the past 15 years, and her dedication to her craft has always been admirable," said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati. "She will always be a role model for young referees and we want to thank her for her tremendous work on behalf of U.S. Soccer and the women's game, both domestically and internationally."

Seitz has been in the middle for more than 200 professional matches, more than 1,000 college matches, and has refereed the U.S. Women’s National Team more than 50 times. She has also officiated 45 different women's national teams in 20 countries. She is the only referee to officiate in three different regional championships, working confederation tournaments in CONCACAF, Europe and Asia. Seitz became a member of the FIFA International List of Referees in 1999 after beginning her professional officiating career in 1998 as an assistant and center referee in MLS. In 2005, she was selected as one of 38 women - one of only five from CONCACAF - to participate in FIFA's first referee workshop for women at the 2005 Algarve Cup in Portugal. The full-time advertising executive also owns the distinction of having been selected to referee the women's Bronze Medal match at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, where she was one of only two referees chosen to represent the United States, as well as the Third Place Match at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany. She was also selected to officiate the opening women's match between Great Britain and New Zealand at the 2012 London Olympics.

Bundesliga team Hoffenheim will protest against their 2-1 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen last night after Stefan Kiessling’s 70th minute header was awarded as a goal despite the ball clearly going wide of the post and through a hole in the side netting. Referee Felix Brych failed to see that the ball did not cross the goal-line, although Kiessling’s reaction suggested who knew exactly what had happened as he held his head in his hands in disbelief that he had missed the target. But after a few seconds of confusion had passed, the Leverkusen players realised that Brych had awarded the goal, to which the Hoffenheim players accepted as the ball was in the back of the net. Hoffenheim managing director Alexander Rosen said: "It's a scandal. That was no goal, there are no two ways about it. We are definitely going to protest".

Felix Brych, a FIFA referee pre-selected for the World Cup 2014, said that no player had indicated it was not a goal. "I had a slight doubt but the reaction from the players was clear - nobody was against [the decision]," Brych said. "I checked with Kiessling. But no-one, not even him, said that it wasn't a goal. The ball was in the net and for everyone on the pitch it was a legitimate goal." Meanwhile, goal-scorer Kiessling has apologised saying he could "fully understand the reactions" to the goal. "After seeing the replays on television, I can clearly see that it was not a legitimate goal," he said. "During the game, after heading the ball and turning my head, I did not exactly see whether the ball had gone into the goal or not. Somehow, the ball was lying in the goal and I said exactly that to the referee. I'm sorry for all sports fans. Naturally, it's not nice to win like that. Fairness is important in sport, for us in the club and for me personally." Several Hoffenheim substitutes raced behind the goal to examine the netting and appeared to try to point out Brych's error. But the referee was by then powerless to overrule his original decision.

Rudi Voller, Leverkusen's sporting director, said: "That's not how we wanted to win the game. The fair result would have been a 2-2." Leverkusen were leading through Sidney Sam's 26th-minute opener when the controversy happened. Germany international Kiessling headed a corner wide of the near post, and could be seen turning away in frustration before Brych awarded the goal. The referee then awarded Hoffenheim a generous penalty when Roberto Firmino was fouled a foot outside the penalty area. But Firmino's spot-kick was saved. Sven Schipplock pulled a goal back for Hoffenheim two minutes from the end, but they could not save a point and fell to their first home defeat of the season.

Mark Halsey has hit out at the standard of refereeing in the Barclays Premier League, blaming an "atmosphere of fear and paranoia" created by the body in charge of match officials.

The 52-year-old, who hung up his whistle at the end of last season, reckons only eight of the current crop are good enough and believes referees' chief Mike Riley and his assistant Keren Barratt are part of the problem. He told the Sun: "Don't get me wrong, there are some really top referees out there. "I reckon currently there is a 'great eight', in no particular order: Mark Clattenburg, Howard Webb, Mike Dean, Andre Marriner, Lee Probert, Martin Atkinson, Phil Dowd and Chris Foy. But as for the other 10 on the elite list, well...some are just not up to it while others need more experience, better nurturing and coaching." That puts referees including Mike Jones, Kevin Friend and Lee Mason on Halsey's list of those who are not good enough. Halsey believes much of the blame lies with the body that oversees referees - Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) - as well as their general manager Riley and select group manager Barratt. "[PGMOL] are running the whole show on an apparent power trip while creating an atmosphere of fear and paranoia," Halsey said. "That is not helping the weaker officials improve and the system often confuses and frequently frustrates the best referees who get mixed messages about what is expected of them." Halsey believes the wrong officials are often picked for big games and blames that on Riley and Barratt. He added: "Riley had a reputation for being an over-fussy and pedantic ref. And his manner as general manager of elite referees - whereby he liaises with the Premier League and League Managers' Association - appears not to have changed." Halsey described Barratt, and the dual role he plays as both their boss who draws up the match lists and also offer advice as a "mentor", as a "big problem". He said: "How can he do that (be their mentor) when he wears another hat as head of the evaluation committee, which adjudicates and has the power to mark down referees, axe officials from matches or ultimately kick them off the list? There is a clear potential conflict of interest in the two roles".

That has infuriated his ex-colleague Poll, who said “He is 100 per cent betraying what paid him a living, which he would never have earned as the warehouse manager he was or the taxi driver he was. The refereeing fraternity are absolutely appalled at what he is doing. He hasn’t thought it through. I think it is absolutely appalling. Mark has got to take a long, hard look at himself. He won’t. I know the guy. I have known him for years. He is that type of character I’m afraid. I would never buy the book and I hope lots of people don’t as well. The sensible thing would be to ignore him. It is what people did at the referees’ camp for a long time when he used to turn up with his Bolton kit to train rather than the kit that we all had on. He had a squad number at Bolton and we were told what to wear to train as a group and he ignored that and was on his own. Maybe he is getting back at people."Responding to Poll’s comments, Halsey said “I’m passionate about refereeing and what I’m saying is these referees need help, they need managing. Refs are not happy with the way they’re managed and the way they’re spoken to. You have to treat men like man and it’s all about managing men and talking to them and getting them onside, and at the moment that doesn’t happen. Referees are scared to come out and say anything, because if they do they’ll upset the management and they go missing off the fixture list. I know that because I’ve been involved for the last few years. They [the PGMOL] don’t know how to manage men. If you manage men properly you get them onside. If you go back a few years ago, Andre Mariner, a good friend of mine and a great referee, was so, so close to being taken off the list. I had a conversation with one of our managers and said, ‘you’ve got to look after him and give him an assessor who marks well and give him some confidence’. He was a game away from being removed off the Premier League list and they did that. They looked after him and now he’s a fantastic referee. They should have done that with Stuart Attwell. He should never have been taken off the Premier League list. He should still be on it because he’s good referee but he wasn’t managed properly. He wasn’t given the right games. It’s like a young player - you put them in and take them out. Give them the right games to referee, and put your big name refs on the big games. It’s a massive step up from the Football League to the Premier League. There’s no hiding place and they’ve got to be looked after. It takes about three or four years to get the players to trust you. Once you do that it becomes easier and we have to manage the refs to allow them to get there. The PGMOL don’t know how to motivate referees. It’s the same with players – you’ve got to know how to motivate them and that’s not happening. They need more help”.

Following more than 350 matches and 14 years as a Ireland League referee, Alan Kelly has decided to bring his whistling skills to Major League Soccer in the USA.

Kelly took up refereeing in 1994 and joined the Cork Branch of the Irish Soccer Referees Society (ISRS). He refereed in local leagues including the Munster Senior League. He joined the League of Ireland Referees Panel in 1999 while participating in the first FAI Referee’s School of Excellence. In 2000 he was selected to referee the League of Ireland Cup Final between Derry City and Limerick City which was the first of four senior domestic Cup finals he refereed. He refereed his first FAI Cup Final in 2003 when Longford Town beat St Patricks Athletic at Lansdowne Road and became one of only a handful of Irish referees to referee multiple FAI Cup Finals when he took charge of the game between Sporting Fingal and Sligo Rovers in 2009 at Tallaght Stadium. The 38 year-old has been rising up the UEFA and FIFA ranks for many years now and has been on FIFA’s list of official referees since 2002. In recent years, Kelly has refereed Europa League games, Champions League group stage matches and some international qualifiers for both the World Cup and European Championships, as well as weekly League of Ireland ties.
According to the Irish Daily Star, the Corkman’s potential income will now increase dramatically. A League of Ireland referee earns €150 per game, while MLS match fees can rise to as high as $1,100 (or €810). He officiated his final game in Ireland last weekend when Sligo Rovers faced Shamrock Rovers in an FAI Cup semi-final.
Whilst working as a referee, Kelly has previously worked as a personal trainer/fitness instructor/gym manager in his native Cork but is likely to focus now on refereeing in a full-time capacity. His grandfather and father were both League of Ireland referees and Kelly has stated in the past that they were both the biggest influences on his career.
Back in 2006, Kelly handed out five red cards in the space of ten minutes to Russian players during an U-21 play-off second-leg between Denmark and the Russians. Kelly states that the spotlight shone on him in the aftermath of that game was “very unpleasant. All of the red cards I awarded were correct though”. Kelly has stated that the highlights of his career so far are: “The Champions League games were a major high for me: Cluj v Basel, Leverkusen v Genk, but the Real Madrid game at the Bernabeu will always stand out. It doesn’t really get any bigger than that in terms of club teams. It was a fantastic experience and one that, if I never refereed again, I would look back on for the rest of my life. “The Spain v Argentina game (back in 2009) is also a career highlight. Coming face-to-face with one of my heroes, Diego Maradona. Even to say that, is something that is surreal”.

The goal-line technology (Hawk-Eye) system recently worked better than expected in Netherland's First Division. Referee Danny Makkelie went crazy because of this new technology, which was used for the first time during a match in the Dutch top league last weekend.

The reason: nobody had thought about the youth players from the home team, Utrecht, who were playing and trying to score during the half-time interval. According to AD Sportwereld, every time the ball crossed the goal line, Makkelie’s watch buzzed and the text “goal” was shown. The goal-line technology system is being turned on two hours before the match to test it. Since this was the first time the system was used in Netherlands, the technicians did not dare to turn it off because they were not sure if they could turn it back on.